Tropical Fruit And Maple Sorbet

There are many glories to be sung about tropical fruits. They are nutritious, taste great and come in a wide variety of colours, shapes and textures. These tropical fruits, be it mangoes, bananas, papayas, chikkus, jackfruit, grapes, melons, oranges and other indigenous varieties are enormously soothing to the soul.

Ofcourse, they are best enjoyed in their natural splendor without much tampering in terms of subjecting them to any form of cooking. But cooking is also an art form and when one is blessed with these fruits of nature, the many forms in which they can be expressed through the fine art of cooking must be explored!

Keeping in mind the hot Indian summer, I decided to use some tropical fruits- mangoes, bananas and papaya to make a sorbet using 100% pure maple syrup from Canada.

A sorbet can be loaded with sugar and so I decided to substitute the refined sugar with a natural sweetener that is not only healthier and lower in calories when compared to many other sweeteners like refined sugars, treacle or corn syrup, but also lends a delightful taste to the sorbet. Maple syrup can also be used as a direct substitute to the above mentioned sweeteners.

The 100% pure maple syrup from Canada that I used seemed to be a perfect marriage of the west and the east. The pure maple syrup blended beautifully with my locally grown tropical fruits. And now I’m looking forward to exploring the delights of this sweetener with many other sweet and savoury recipes.

Fruit juices and fruit purees are the basis of sorbets and granites. A sorbet is generally smoother than a granite which has ice crystals in the form of ice flakes or tiny ice granules.

In this recipe for a tropical fruit sorbet, I have used locally available fruits like mangoes, papaya and banana with a healthy sweetener instead of the regular sugar syrup, making it great for those who watch their calories or avoid sugar in their diet. You can experiment with many different fruits available to you and use fruits like pomegranate pearls to make it look exciting.

According to Ayurveda, ginger helps to digest food since it kindles the digestive fire known as “Agni” which helps in digesting the food in the stomach and prevents the accumulation of ama or toxins in the body. The ginger juice used in this sorbet recipe has enormous medicinal benefits apart from imparting a pleasant tang and taste to this dessert.

There are two ways of serving this sorbet. You can serve this frozen with a spoon or even serve it in a margarita glass or any other glass of your choice with a straw. This way, it can be sipped while it melts.

If you live in a tropical country, make the best use of your local fruits by making this sorbet. And if you don’t live in a tropical country, making and eating this sorbet will transport you to a tropical island and put you in a happy space.

Tropical Fruit And Maple Sorbet Recipe

A sorbet made with tropical fruits, pure maple syrup and a hint of ginger

I have used tropical fruits like mango, banana and papaya. You can use any fruits that are locally available to use.

Ingredients:

250 to 300 gm (2 ½ cups) fruits, peeled and chopped

4 tbsp 100 % pure maple syrup from Canada

1 ½ tsp ginger juice*

juice of ½ a lime

Method:

Peel and chop the fruits. Place the chopped fruits in a bowl and add the 100% pure Maple Syrup from Canada, the ginger juice and the lime juice and mix well.

Toss the contents of the bowl into a blender and blend to a fine puree. Spoon the fruit puree into an ice cube tray and freeze until set.

[If you have an ice cream machine then process the frozen fruit cubes in the ice cream maker and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instruction]

Process the frozen cubes in a blender until you get a smooth texture. If you are making a large batch, then keep storing the processed sorbet in the freezer, either in the serving bowl (s) or in a jar with a lid.

Once done, you can serve immediately with wedges of lime and mint leaves or freeze until serving time.

If you want to serve this a little later, then you can bring out the jar and allow to thaw at room temperature for about 4 to 5 minutes, before scooping out the servings.

To make ginger juice, grate some ginger and place the ginger in a lime or lemon press to extract the juice.

Makes 3 to 4 scoops. For a larger quantity, you can double the recipe.

Comments (2 Comments)

Poonam: Honey is a good substitute, just make sure that you don’t heat it.

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I'm Anushruti RK, a recipe developer, food writer and photographer based in Mumbai, specializing in pure vegetarian and sattvik recipes. DivineTaste.com catalogues my quest for simple and exotic pleasures in food that lead to tremendous overall well being with simple healthful recipes, at times elaborate with occasional indulgences! Read more...